For The Love of a Princess
by DefenderOfLove
Summary: Can the true love overpower the forces of evil? Read and find out!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** Voltron belongs to WEP.

**For The Love of a Princess**

**Chapter One**

Princess Allura could feel her heart going pitter-pat, like a tiny chick that had finally outgrown the egg it had called home and was now trying to peck its way out so it could enjoy the lovely sunshine of the beautiful Planet Arus. The object of her maidenly desire was close to her, and the pleasant heat of his body, as well as the smell of his woodsy aftershave, made her feel like she would melt into a warm, gooey puddle.

"Princess," Captain Keith, the leader of the Voltron Force, whispered into her shell-like ear, "We can't keep doing this... I... I love you so much. It's a torture that you cannot imagine."

She buried her face into his manly chest, and he tightened his arm around her waist in response.

"You don't have to call me that when we're alone, darling," she replied softly, so as to not give away the intensity of her feelings, "Do you think that it's not torture for me, as well? I want to shout our love from the Lion Monument, from the top of the Castle of Lions! But that time has not yet come. They wouldn't understand, as of yet, and if _he_ knew about us, he would _kill_ you!" Her jewel-like eyes widened at her mention of the evil Prince of Doom, and tears blossomed at their corners at the thought of harm befalling her soul mate, making them look like shimmering sapphires of mystery.

"I would turn him into dust before he even so much as had the opportunity to breathe in your general direction," Keith swore, his eyes becoming shining pools of chocolate deep enough to lose oneself in at the thought of the foul spawn of the King of Doom laying a hand on the heavenly body of his love.

"I know, darling, but just a little more patience is all that is needed," the princess groaned lightly as her fleshy orbs were crushed against his hard body, "And then, we can marry, and be together forever, with no one to come between our love!"

The Black Lion pilot breathed in the flowery scent of her lusciously long hair. "You would be Queen..."

"And you would be King," she said, her heart thudding even faster inside of her chest.

Oh, to sit on the throne with her love next to her, for all to see! They would be able to be together at all hours of the day and make love at all hours of the night, and no one would be able to tell them that they couldn't be together! Even though she was a virgin, she nonetheless colored and felt her nipples go turgid at the thought of making passionate love to her soul mate. So what that he was a commoner and she a princess? He was a good person, and if Nanny or Coran couldn't see that, then that was their issue! Her people would surely be able to see how strong their love was for one another and would gladly support their decision to be together forever.

"Allura, I want you so bad right now," the black-haired captain moaned and took hold of her lips with his own like a pirate seizing a precious treasure.

The lovers kissed each other deeply and passionately, like they were the last two people in the universe.

All of a sudden, the sound of footsteps began to echo from around the corner they were hidden behind.

Allura broke away from him and hissed worriedly, "Oh, no, someone's coming!"

They quickly smoothed out each other's rumpled hair and clothing and then stood a respectable distance away from one another. It was sweet torment for them both knowing that, moments before, they had been wrapped around each other, like a delicate vine curling around a massive, rigid tree, and now they must pretend that a passionate love did not in actuality exist between them. A split second later, Nanny came around the corner and into the narrow passageway they both occupied.

"Where have you two been?" the round woman exclaimed in her deeply accented voice before briefly casting a suspicious eye on Keith, "Princess, Captain, Coran has been trying to get you both on your communicators! Quickly, you must go to Castle Control! Something has happened!"

Without waiting for a reply, she took hold of her royal charge and began pulling her in the direction of the Castle of Lion's main communication center. As she was being led away, the princess turned her head around and gazed mournfully back at her love.

For a moment, Keith just stood there, stunned at the audacity of that old battleaxe. How dare she manhandle the Princess of Arus and his love like that?! He thought about talking to Coran about the issue, but he did not know whether or not the adviser would actually do anything about it. All of a sudden, another thought rushed through his mind, except it did not seem to be his own.

_Please don't be an attack from Doom._

Just as suddenly, the thought vanished. He stared in shock at the retreating figures of the princess and the governess before they vanished around the corner. Where had that thought come from? It had seemed alien, almost as if it belonged to a different person. But that surely had to be a mistake... It was probably his lack of sleep catching up to him. Between his multiple vigils in Black Lion and spending what precious time he could find alone with the woman that he loved, he did not have much time for rest. Yes, it had to be that. As much as he disliked the idea of cutting back on the amount of time spent with his darling in private, the captain immediately resolved to get more sleep; after all, a weary defender was an ineffective defender.

First thing was first, though; he had to find out what the situation was in Castle Control!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

A/N: Thank you Paulina Ann for reviewing! And everyone else for reading! Now "on with the the show!"

**For the Love of a Princess**

**Chapter 2 **

Prince Lotor narrowed his snake-like eyes and sneered, "Those Voltron fools won't even know what hit them!" He said then laughed maniacally.

"No they won't! Not with both of our forces attacking them at once!" The beautiful, pink haired and very evil Queen Merla replied with a smirk of her own.

" They will never suspect this new strategy. We will destroy Voltron once and for all!" Lotor said with his usual arrogance. _And then Princess Allura will be mine at last!_

Merla's vulture flapped its wings and squacked in annoyance as the evil queen heard Lotor's thoughts with her telepathy. He telepathic link included the ugly bird as well and she often used the vile creature to do her evil bidding.

"Yes, Lotor we will! They will expect a robeast, not the spell-bomb that Hagar made for us in her laboratory. The spell contains tinctures that will cause them to fall in love with whomever they hate the most." Merla said then began giggling. _Captain Keith won't even know what hit him!_ She thought and stroked her chin. The queen had been interested in the handsome and brilliant commander of the Voltron force for a while. _Finally a man worthy of me! _

Lotor joined in on her laughter, his theatrical booming guffaws reverberated across the bridge.

Merla's vulture shuffled and flapped on its perch once more, _Can I shit on him, Mistress?_ It asked. _Not yet, my lovely, soon we'll both shit him, _the evil queen replied with her extrasensory powers.

Keith ran behind Nanny and Allura, following them into Castle Control. Coran, Hunk, Pidge and Lance were already there staring at the enormous video screen as a Giant coffin ship crashed through the atmosphere in a glowing fire ball.

"It looks like Lotor's attacking again!" Keith said astonished.

"Yes, but there's something different about this attack." Coran said.

"Yeah, there's no battleship or robot fighters with it!" lance said.

"You're right!" Pidge said.

The coffin ship crashed to the ground sending a huge plume of rocks and debris high into the air and a smoking crater ringed with molten rock in the ground. The surrounding brush began to ignite and flames rushed toward the farmland and the town.

"We must protect the people of Arus!" Allura pleaded.

Keith looked lovingly at Allura, she was so courageous and selfless. He never met a woman like her before. She was always putting everyone before herself. He would die to protect her! "You're right, princess! Come on team! Let's get to the Lions!" Keith bolted out of Castle control and headed to the "changing tubes" and the rest of the guys followed.

Allura tried to go but Nanny had a death grip on her arm. Allura tried to yank free, "Nanny, please let me go! We need the Lions!" she said, tears of frustration welling up in her azure eyes.

Nanny released her her arm and the princess ran after her teammates as fast as her dowdy skirts would let her. Nanny's eyes welled up with tears as she watched the princesses departing form. "Oh, my baby! My baby! Be careful!" she called out then pressed a handkerchief to her nose and wept.

The Lions arrived at the smoking crater only to see that the fire was devastating the fields of crops that would sustain the people of planet Arus for the winter so they didn't starve.

"Okay, Princess! This is a job for you and Blue!" Keith said over the comm.

"Right, Commander!" Allura replied, giggling to herself at his unintentional rhyme. Keith was so clever, he was a poet and didn't know it! She aimed her Lion at the burning fields and let loose a jet of water, dousing the flames.

"Okay, Hunk! Your turn! Build a dam to keep that water from flooding everything!" Keith ordered.

"Aye!Aye! Captain!" Hunk replied and aimed his Lion downwards towards the ground. With a big swipe of Yellow's paw he dug a channel for the water to drain away from then raced ahead of it. He used his elemental blast to create a large hole and the water rushed into it.

"Wow! You guys created a new lake!" Pidge observed.

"Yeah maybe we can go swimming! Princess, you still have that bikini, right?" Lance said suggestively.

Pidge and Hunk chortled and Keith harrumphed. "Watch that Lance, Allura is a Princess, and she deserves respect!" He admonished. He really wanted to punch Lance in the eye, even though he was his friend. It was so hard keeping his feelings for Allura a secret.

"as if?!" Allura replied haughtily, although everyone knew she was joking because she would ever use such a tone with anyone. She was too well bred. "anyway, Nanny got rid of it after that last time."

"Hey you could always skinny dip!" Pidge said and there was a shocked silence.

"No, I don;t that would be a good idea, Little Buddy." Hunk finally said realizing that Pidge was too naive to know why that was inappropriate. Because he was so competent a team mate, sometimes they all forgot exactly how young Pidge was.

"Hey look!" Lance said suddenly. "The coffin is opening!"

"Oh my God! What's in it?" Allura asked fearfully. Robeasts scared her ever she was literally chased by them as a little girl when Zarkon first attacked her planet and she still had nightmares about them.

Okay, team! Give it some space so we can see what we're dealing with." Keith said.

The Lions flew upwards and circled as the glowing energy burst from the opening coffin ship subsided. To everyone's surprise, the coffin looked empty.

"It's empty!" Pidge said.

"Huh?!" the other members of the Voltron Force replied in astonishment.

"Wait! Look! There's something coming out of it!" the princess observed.

"You're right, princess! Good eyes! " Keith confirmed and Allura smiled to herself. She tried so hard not to be a burden on her team mates; it was especially nice to get praise for helping.

"What is it?!" Lance asked, referring to the tiny-in compared to a robeast, anyway- round shaped object that emerged from the vast compartment of the coffin ship. It floated out and came to a standstill in the middle of a now muddy field.

"Okay, team we need to check that out!" Keith said from the cockpit of Black Lion.

The Five Lions flew low and landed in a circle around the round object. For a moment nothing happened. Then a glowing hologram of King Zarkon emerged. The Voltron force gasped in surprise.

"Oh no! What dose he want?" Allura cried out in alarm. King Zarkon was the only thing more scary than a robeast.

Before anyone could answer, the hologram began delivering it message: "Greetings Princess Allura and the people of Arus. Our planets have long been at war and it has done neither of us any good. My planet, planet Doom, is an ecological disaster and my people need resources. We have wrongly tried to take yours by force. We now see the error of our ways and wish to start peaceful trade relations. Please accept this-" there was a pause and the orb opened in the middle and canister was thrust out on a robotic arm-"as a token of our good faith." The hologram ended and the image of King Zarkon vanished but the orb and robotic arm remained extended as if offering a handshake.

"Wow. I definitely wasn't expecting that!" Lance said.

"Neither was I, but if Doom is ready for peace then I have to give them a chance!" Allura said excitedly.

"Maybe we should ask Coran what to do?" Pidge suggested.

Then the orb moved and the middle began to close.

"Oh no! I've waited too long!" Princess Allura gasped and the jaws of her Lion opened and she came running out.

"Princess, wait!" Keith said as he exited black Loin's massive cockpit to go after Allura. There was still a chance that this was a trap!

The orb dropped the canister, closed itself with a hiss and a click then zoomed upwards and disappeared into the clouds.

Keith and Allura stood side by side in front of the canister. It was silver and about the size of a thermos.

"Princess, stay back. It could be dangerous." Keith said and ushered Allura behind him.

A moment later the rest of the Voltron Force joined them in a circle around the cylinder. Lance and Hunk aimed their blasters at it.

"Maybe we should put a containment field around it and have a demolition team check it out?" Pidge asked. Then he sighed as no one replied. Sometimes it sucked being a child genius, no one took him seriously.

Keith took a deep breath, he was the commander and he had to make the decision.

"Keith, my people and my planet need peace in order to survive. If there's a chance, I have to take it..." Allura pleaded, tears gathering in her brilliant blue irises and her lower lip trembling irresistibly.

Once Keith was caught in his true love's tearful gaze he knew what he had to do.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: WEP still owns Voltron, but I'd be more than willing to take Keith off their hands for snuggling purposes ;)

A/N: Thank you for reviewing StickyRoll and Paulina! I am sooo glad you guys are liking my story. Hopefully I will be able to write more ;)

**For the Love of a Princess**

**Chapter 3**

Captain Keith thought about Pidge's suggestion to call a demolition team and have them investigate the silver canister for possible dangers, but then he looked back at the princess's shaking form and caught a glimpse of the hopeful tears that threatened to cascade from her watery eyes like glistening pearls. It tugged at his heart strings. Also, if they left to go get the demolition team, who knew what would happen to the canister? A helpless peasant could stumble upon it and open it, thinking it was treasure! Who knew what would happen then?

With this thought in mind, he gingerly bent down and carefully unscrewed the top of the canister, bracing himself for whatever surprises potentially lurked inside. The other pilots crowded around him to see what was inside for themselves. The top unscrewed and came off with a hiss. Mysterious smoke came roiling out, and the commander held his breath and reached inside. Whatever was inside, it did not matter, as long as it brought a smile to his true love's face.

He released his held breath when his gloved hand emerged grasping a rolled up document.

"Open it!" Allura said excitedly, "What does it say?"

She could hardly contain the hope that was swelling up inside of her like a giant balloon that would go POP at any minute.

The dashing captain carefully unrolled the document and examined its contents. "Why, it's a peace treaty! And look!" he pointed towards the signature scrawled at the bottom, "King Zarkon has already signed it!"

"Oh my gosh!" the princess squealed with happiness, "I have waited for this day for so long! There will be an end to the fighting and we can finally begin to rebuild Arus!"

Keith could help but smile; her happiness was contagious. He had never seen her so happy before. It was as if the sun had come out from behind a cloud and blinded everyone with its bright beauty. Allura was so full of goodness and a genuine desire to help everyone on her planet, from the oldest old person to the tiniest, cutest baby. It was no wonder that everyone loved her so. He felt privileged to not only be standing right next to her, but also to be the recipient of her love.

A warmth then flooded through him, and another strange thought went through his mind.

_Oh, if only you knew how much I really loved you!_

Goose bumps broke out on his skin. What was with these thoughts? They were not his own! From the corner of the mahogany orb that was his eye, he saw Allura shiver and hug herself, as if she had seen a ghost that was not her father. He immediately turned back to the document and rolled it back up before sticking it back into the canister and screwing it shut once more.

"Come on, team! Let's go back to the castle and show this to Coran!" he said to everyone as he grasped the canister tightly in his masculine hands.

"Aye aye, Captain!" Allura and everyone else chorused back to him.

They then jumped back into the Lions and flew really fast back to the Castle of Lions.

"Hahahahahaha!" Lotor's evil laughter rang out from the interior of his spaceship. "They took the bait!"

Merla smiled slyly at the Prince of Doom with her luscious blueberry-colored lips. She read his thoughts with her magic and knew that the spell-bomb had successfully gone off when the sexy commander first opened the canister in order to get at the fake peace treaty kept inside. The magic of the bomb would then saturate Keith's and the princess's bodies and change how they felt about the people who they hated most.

Although Hagar had been the one to build the bomb, the plan had been Lotor's, much to the evil queen's shock. She thought the prince to be a fool, but every now and then, he surprised her.

_Mistress, can I shit on him now?_ her vulture telepathically whined at her from its perch on her shoulder.

_Not yet, my pet, not while he still has his uses_, she mentally chided him, _Once Captain Keith is mine, then we will be able to punish him for his idiocy._

_Yes, Mistress,_ the ugly creature grumbled to her.

Merla chorted to herself and then stopped when she felt Lotor staring at her.

"Thinking chic thoughts, Merla?" he sneered at her.

"But of course, Lotor," she said and smiled again, "I am anticipating the next stage of the plan, which is to send an envoy aka you and me to Planet Arus to meet with the princess and Coran to solidify the fake peace agreement. From there, we will trap and kidnap them, and the magic of the spell-bomb will be in full effect!"

The prince became distracted by the mental image of the pretty Princess of Arus dancing before him.

"Yes! And Arus and Voltron will finally fall!" he cackled out loud. _And Allura and the throne will be mine!_

More evil masculine and feminine laughter filled the inside of the space ship.


	4. Chapter 4

I own nothing! WEP does, but they still won't let me have Keith :,(

A_uthor's Note__: Thank you cubbieBlueMako, sunshineleo, limetwist, "guest" and Paulina Ann for reviewing! Sorry I took so long with this chapter but my sister signed me up for online dating and I wasted valuable writing time exchanging emails and IM's with superficial people. Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter! _

For the Love of a Princess

chapter 4

Unfortunately in their excitement and haste to leave no one had noticed a tiny purple gem that had fallen out of the canister and landed in a puddle in the muddy field. It glowed and puled ominously and tendrils of green and purple leeched out of it and into the water. Hagar's evil magic spread with each throb of the gem, the magic being carried by the muddy water into the stream that the peasants used to get their water for drinking, cooking and washing.

The Voltron Force returned to the Castle of Lions and they were so excited about their good news that they didn't even stop to use the changing tubes before charging into Castle Control with their precious missive in hand.

"Coran! Coran!" Keith shouted, startling the old minister from his nap at the console. "Doom wants Peace! Zarkon surrendered!"

"Wha- what is that you say?" Coran said. "Zarkon surrendered?"

"Yes! It's all right here on this paper! He wrote it down and everything!" Princess Allura gasped joyfully. "Finally! We have peace at last!"

"Let me see that, Keith." Coran said and reached in his pocket and took out his monocle and inserted it into his eye socket.

Keith opened the canister reached in and handed him the paper. The Voltron Force all stood around breathlessly in anticipation as Coran read the words on the paper aloud and then said, "This is amazing!" Coran said. "The war is over!"

A shout went up among the Voltron Force, and Keith felt an over whelming wash of happiness and a thought that wasn't his came into his head, _My people are finally safe. _For some reason he looked at Allura and had the urge to think really hard, _Yes, they are. I'll keep you safe forever._ Allura suddenly blushed and looked at the ground.

"Hey! That means we can all go home!" Pidge said. "Except me, because I don't have a home anymore."

Everyone was excited and crowded around Coran and he re-read Zarkon's peace treaty out loud once more.

"It doesn't say anything about me having to marry Lotor in the fine print, does it?" Allura asked, her brilliant blue eyes wide with anxiety.

"Hmmm..." Coran said, "I don't think so. I think that Doom has finally realized that you can get more flies with honey that you can with vinegar."

Allura and Keith shared a quick secret look and Keith swore Allura said, "Thank all the Gods! Oh, Lotor is just so awful!" But her mouth never moved. Keith's mouth ran dry and he struggled to keep his face blank as he realized that he must have heard Allura's thoughts. He wondered if she knew she was sending them to him. _What if she can hear my thoughts?_ Keith thought and tried to think of a thought to send like he had a moment ago.

But before he could Nanny suddenly came rushing into Castle Control, "Oh my baby! I heard the good news! Finally you are out of that lion and can be a proper princess again!" Nanny grabbed Allura's arm, as was her habit, and dragged her out of Castle Control.

Merla reclined on a couch and looked at the muddy field from her video screen in her stateroom aboard Lotor's battleship. She zoomed in and saw the glowing gem depositing it's poison into the water and laughed. "This is better than anyone could hope! All of the people of Arus will be affected! It will make taking over the planet so much easier since the spell will keep working until the opposite spell is cast!" She laughed again and her buzzard joined her with it's harsh sqwaking and flapped it's wings.

"Merla!" Prince Lotor's smug face abruptly took over the video monitor. "It is I! Prince Lotor!"

Merla sighed and rolled her eyes annoyed, "I know," the evil queen said dryly. "What do you want, Lotor?"

"Did you see what happened?" The prince asked his yellow eyes widening.

Merla sat up, suddenly interested, "Yes I did-"

"Those Voltron fools took the bait!" Lotor interrupted, "just like I knew they would!" Merla frowned. She hated being interrupted and she thought the prince had noticed the same thing she did. That the gem was poisoning all the water of Arus! Lotor took a drink of the golden and jeweled goblet he was holding and using to gesture with.

"Lotor, I think that-"

" Now we just have to wait and see what happens." he said. Merla nearly growled in annoyance! How dare he cut her off again?! She was a queen and he was only a prince.

"Yes, we do. But don't you think-"

"I can't wait to see how it affects Allura!" Lotor took special care to pronounce Allura's name slowly, lingering on the 'l' and rolling the 'r' like a pervert.

Merla bristled and her buzzard flapped. She realized that Lotor was so obsessed with Allura that he was only thinking of the spells effects on the princess and that he had no idea what had happened after the Voltron Force departed and went back to the Castle of Loins. "I'm sure it will affect her just as you desire." Merla assured Lotor, "Maybe you should check if the spell is working?" The pink haired queen asked pointedly, knowing that Lotor wouldn't be able to contain his eagerness.

"Check if it's working?" He responded.

"Yes, Lotor. We should contact those Voltron Fools at castle Control and tell them that we are Zarkon's Peace Ambassadors here to negotiate on his behalf."

"Excellent idea! I'm glad I made you think of it." Lotor smirked and cut the communication.

Merla sat up and snapped her fingers. A slave girl rushed over and kneeled at her feet.

"Yes, my queen, what is your bidding?" she asked.

"Get me wine and then come rub my temples! I have a headache!" Merla commanded and the trembling slave ran off to do what she was told, or get a whipping.

Merla slunk back into the couch cushions, irritated. Dealing with Lotor always gave her a headache. Maybe, just maybe when she had Keith in her clutches he could get rid of Lotor for her. Her vulture sqwaked, feeling her upset. _Yes, the captain will kill him and then going to shit on him, Mistress._


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer - Voltron belongs to WEP, as does my heart, Keith 3

A/N- Thank you for your wonderful reviews Cubbie! You too, Limetwist and guest!

**For The Love Of A Princess**

**Chapter 5**

Keith, Allura, and everyone else were within Castle Control when the giant video screen pinged at them, notifying them of an incoming message.

Coran harrumphed when he saw the source of the message, but he pushed the blinking red button on the system's keyboard, anyways. The smug blue faces of the son of King Zarkon and the Queen of Darkness promptly filled the screen.

"Greetings, Prince Lotor and Queen Merla," the adviser said cautiously.

"Greetings, Coran," Lotor replied, "I am contacting you in regards to the peace treaty my father sent to Arus a couple of days ago. Have you reviewed our terms and found them acceptable?"

Merla merely smiled and nodded slightly. Her vulture sat on her shoulder and was docile.

Coran glanced momentarily at the princess, who nodded.

"Yes, we did, and they are acceptable," he said, "It is high time that this war came to an end and that the planets of this galaxy coexist with one another in peace and harmony."

"Excellent," Lotor said, "And I agree. We have seen the light, and now want to become an ally to Arus and the Galaxy Alliance."

Although his words were penitent, his tone of voice was as arrogant as ever. Allura shivered. She still found the formerly evil prince very scary, but she could learn to tolerate him as a faintly distasteful ally if it meant peace.

Strangely, Keith chose this moment to move his hard, manly body closer to hers, as if he wanted to replace her discomfort with comfort. Had he sensed her thoughts? The princess shivered again. For the past two days, thoughts that did not seem to be her own had been materializing in her mind like a genie floating out of a lamp that had been rubbed out of a desire to make someone's wish for true love to come true. It was all so confusing, like a jumble of fuzzy kittens, but also exciting, also like a jumble of fuzzy kittens. It was also a little frightening.

The commander moved even closer to her. It was as if he was reading her mind. Could she read his thoughts, too? Before she could attempt a try, another thought jumped into her mind.

"The slaves," she said suddenly, "They must be freed."

Lotor's yellow eyes zeroed in on her, and for a moment, she felt like a pretty little morsel and he was a dragon that would gobble her up for his dinner. "Of course, Princess Allura. The slaves will be freed and allowed to go back to their homes."

Even though he said nothing lewd or nasty, the mere way in which he said her name made her feel like she wasn't wearing her frilly dress at all. He would never see her naked, though, not if she could help it. Only her true love would be able to see her in that way, and only after they were married!

Unseen by anyone, Keith's hand found her own and enveloped it within its protective grasp. The warmth and love emanating from his touch strengthened her.

"Good," she said, feeling very proud that her voice that didn't sound scared or helpless, "Keeping slaves is wrong and evil. If you want to be good instead of evil, then you must let them go!"

Commander Keith felt so full to bursting with love for his darling. She was so selfless and good, like an angel. He then glared at Lotor, the devil that had wanted, and probably still wanted, nothing more than to besmirch the innocence of his one true love.

"This better not be a trick, Lotor!" he said warningly, thrusting a pointed finger out towards the video screen.

His hair seemed to be streaming like majestic horse's mane in an unseen breeze, and his luscious coffee-colored eyes burned with a fiery passion. He had never been so handsome to the princess as he was at that very moment, although she always found him to be handsome. He just seemed extra handsome to her right now. Her heart started to go thud-thud, thud-thud like a tiny drum behind her ample orbs.

"That's Prince Lotor to you," the Prince of Doom scowled at him.

He opened his mouth to speak again, but Merla cut him off before he could.

"We would never dream of betraying you," the pink-haired queen said diplomatically, "We want peace just as much as you do. In fact, Prince Lotor and I desire to come to Arus as King Zarkon's peace ambassadors. We will negotiate on his behalf, and will also come unarmed to show our good intentions."

Keith arched a dark eyebrow at them. "Alright then, but just remember, we'll be watching you. No tricks!"

"But of course, Captain Keith," she replied, her voice like silk, "We shall come to Arus in three days. Until then, Captain... Queen Merla and Prince Lotor out."

The video screen then went blank.

"I still can't believe this is happening," Allura whispered to herself, tears beginning to stream from her luminous azure eyes like tiny sparkling diamonds, "This was my father's dream, and mine! Peace... everyone safe and happy and living together in harmony..."

She freed herself from her true love's gentle grasp and clasped her hands hopefully together in front of her shaking body. The hope she was feeling made her feel so light that she could flap her arms like wings and soar like a majestic dove within Castle Control.

"Even though they said they'd come unarmed, we should probably take an armed detail with us to the meeting place, wherever it will be, just to be safe," Pidge spoke up behind everyone else.

"No!" Allura cried out passionately and turned around to face everyone, "If they see that we are armed, then they may think we are trying to attack them! A chance for peace may not come again for a long time, possible never! I will not let this opportunity be jeopardized! Queen Merla spoke of showing good intentions... Let's show them our good intentions by giving them a chance!"

The goodness and hope in her seemed to blaze outwards like a great, roaring bonfire.

Keith saw how happy she was, and seeing her happy made him happy.

He nodded in agreement. "She's right. We'll take the Lions in case things get crazy, but we'll keep them far enough away so that they won't feel threatened."

Coran stroked his chin and twirled his voluminous mustache like a pinwheel. "I agree. That sounds like the best thing we can do. The princess is right. This is an opportunity that may never come again. We must act on it. Let us hope for the best, but prepare for the worst."

Even her advisor acknowledging the worst case scenario was not enough to dampen Allura's spirits. "Oh, we must celebrate this moment! I know it's a little early, but I'm just so happy! We must do something!"

"I know! Let's go visit Lion Town!" Lance exclaimed, referencing the village that the coffin ship containing the mysterious floating orb crash-landed by, "They're supposed to be having a fancy shindig right now, and we can go swimming in Lake Hunk. Princess, you can wear your new swimsuit!" He wiggled his eyebrows at Allura.

"Lance!" Keith said warningly amid all of the good-natured chuckles and guffaws.

The princess giggled and nodded. "That sounds perfect! Let's go tomorrow!"

"Woooooh! Improptu swim party! Peace! Lake Hunk!" Hunk whooped.

"Oh, Hunk! You're so silly!" she giggled again.

Everyone then laughed some more.

At that very moment, Lotor and Merla were both laughing very evilly onboard his spaceship.

"This is working better than I thought it would!" the prince declared, his snake-like eyes, the foul windows to his evil soul, flashing malevolently, "There's no way this plan will fail! I'm such a genius, there are times where I scare myself with how smart I am!"

The queen rolled her own yellow eyes. "Of course, Lotor. It's a good thing, too, you had me include that gem to act as fail-safe for the spell-bomb in case it failed."

"It won't fail!" he snapped at her, "But just in case, yes, it is a good thing that I had that idea!"

Merla glared at him. "I read their minds with my magic and saw that Captain Keith and Princess Allura are still very much in love... Even though they were gathered around the canister when the smoke from the spell-bomb was let out, it is possible that he didn't breath it in and that her purity and goodness protected her from the effects of the magic. Either that, or it is taking longer than expected for the spell-bomb's effects to show up in them."

Her vulture flapped slightly on her shoulders. _Mistress, I really have to go! Please may I shit on him?_

_Not yet, my pet, keep holding it in_, she telepathically told the bird, _Then when the time comes, you can shit the shittiest of shits on him!_

_Yes, Mistress_, the hideous creature said reluctantly.

"Yes, that is true," the evil prince admitted after a moment, "Allura's purity and goodness is one of the reasons that I want her as much as I do. We still have three days before we arrive on Arus as my father's peace ambassadors... the spell-bomb's effects should come to maturity by then, but just in case, we also have the water supply that the gem infused with its magic."

A smile blossomed on Merla's face, like some vile blueberry-colored flower. "I just read all of their minds from where we are in space, and I saw that they intended to go back to where the tainted water supply is. The gem will be gone, as it will have been dissolved since its evil purpose has been fulfilled, but if the spell-bomb did not work on them, then the magic in the water will surely do the job!"

"And then we'll both get what we want!" Lotor cackled, and then both their evil laughter rang out like the howls of all the demons in hell, but in outer space, instead.

Princess Allura and Captain Keith were cloistered away together into a linen closet, the lovebirds sheltering together within a hidden nest of fluffy pink towels.

It was later on in the day, and the intrepid commander and his true love had decided to meet in one of their many hiding spots.

"Darling, I wanted to talk to you about something strange that has been happening to me," he said quietly as he embraced her svelte waist and brushed his fingertips across the soft blushing petal that was her cheek.

His nearness to her made the lovely princess want to swoon with desire. The sexy smell of his man musk was intoxicating to her.

"I-I too have been having something strange happen to me," she whispered shakily back to him.

Keith widened the liquid chocolate pools of bliss that were his eyes. "Really, darling? Then we may both we facing the same issue."

Allura nodded her dainty chin in agreement. "I-I think I can read your thoughts."

His eyes widened even further and his grip tightened around her delightful rounded, yet femininely muscular, body. "And I think I can read yours!"

"What does this mean?" she gasped, her heaving bosoms straining mightily against the pink fabric of her frilly dress, "That we're really soul mates?"

"That must be it!" Keith exclaimed, and then he buried his face into her streaming golden curls, making her nipples turgid once more.

"Oh, my darling, oh, my love!" she gasped again, and shiny tears of love gathered at the corners of the small blue heavenly bodies that were her eyes, "I knew it! We were meant for each other!" She then began to shed shiny tears of sadness and longing. "But, what if this still isn't enough to convince everyone that we should be married and you King with me as Queen?"

"My lovely princess," he breathed softly, gently, and sexily against her peachy skin, "Let us not trouble ourselves with future difficulties as of yet. Let us focus on achieving peace for now, that is the most important thing. Once that is done, then we can worry about making the others accept our love. And you never know," he then said jokingly, "They may find that I'm a long-lost descendent of an duke or baron!"

"Oh, Keith," Allura said, feeling breathless as her heart fluttered like a tiny hummingbird, "Don't torment me with hopes and dreams that may not come to pass!"

She blinked her luminous gemstone eyes, and to the captain, it was like seeing the most beautiful sunset. When she opened them up again, it was like the most beautiful of sunrises, and her goodness and purity was the source of her light from within. His love for her filled all of his heart and mind. He would do anything for her, even die for her if needed!

"I would never do anything so vile to you, my darling," he said softly as he showered millions of tiny fairy kisses of love on her flawless face. Do not be so melancholy!"

He then concentrated really hard, and sent a thought into her head.

Allura sensed the thought in her head. _Shall we go to Lion Town now to celebrate the impending peace we shall enjoy?_

Allura furrowed her forehead and sent a thought back to him. _Yes._

Her trembling lips then parted to reveal the most beautiful of pearly white smiles. Keith returned her smile and tightened his grip on her once more before releasing her. They then opened the door of the linen closet and walked out into the wide open world with the knowledge that they shared a deeper bond than they had even known sitting snug in their hearts.


	6. Chapter 6

_Thank you everyone for reading and specia thanks to Sunshineleo, CubbieBlueMako and Guest 1, Guest 2, and Guest 3 reviewing! (btw, thanks Guest 3, I didn't know that about birds, but Merla's vulture isn't like birds here on Earth, he's housebroken! LOL) _

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything ;) _

_AN: Sorry for the long time between chapters, but this online dating thing just might be working! Nothing serious yet, but I have hope that someday my Keith will come ;) _

For the Love of a Princess

Chapter 6

All of the Voltron Force gathered at Castle Control, only this time they were not in their flight suits, they were dressed in their casual clothes. Only Allura was missing.

"Huh? I wonder what's taking the princess so long?" Hunk asked.

"Probably her hair. Girls always take forever with their hair." Lance replied and the guys laughed and Coran chuckled.

A few moments later Allura arrived, of course with Nanny trailing behind her with a large tote bag. "Sorry it took me so long, guys. I had some wardrobe issues." Allura said and glanced back at Nanny who glowered at her with a look that could shatter glass.

"I don't like this at all!" Nanny said angrily. "A proper princess doesn't go out splashing in the water with scruffy ruffians!"

"Hey, who're you callin' scruffy?!" Lance asked, offended at the snide tone in Nanny's voice.

"Calm down, Lance. Nanny is just being...well, Nanny. She has the princess' best interests in mind." Keith said, trying to keep everyone from losing their temper.

"Nanny, the guys are my teammates. They are not ruffians." Allura said. _Thank you my love_, she thought at Keith, understanding his motives intuitively.

"Nanny, the princess is correct. The Voltron Force have proved themselves to be fine upstanding young men of great valor and virtue." Coran said before Nanny could refute the princess.

"Yeah!" Lance agreed.

Coran cleared his throat, "Well, most of them." He said and glanced at Lance then stroked his mustache.

Lance gave Coran a look like a dog denied table scraps.

"Well, alright. I suppose nothing bad can happen—not like last time." Nanny glowered like an angry badger at both Keith and Lance as if the princess' disappearing bikini top were entirely their fault. She did think it was their fault. After all if they hadn't looked at Allura, no one would have seen her ample bosoms glistening wet in the summer sun when she came to the surface!

"That's right, Nanny, I—I mean, _we_ would never let anything happen to the princess!" Keith said.

"Of course nothing will, happen! I am coming as a chaperone, and maybe Coran will come too?" Nanny said.

Coran looked around surprised, "No Nanny, I can't I have to stay behind and draft up a peace treaty. You can handle this yourself."

Nanny 'harrumphed' and nodded at Coran curtly. "Ok, then lets go! Unless you all want to swim in the moonlight." Nanny said.

_Oh, how I wish we could! _Keith and Allura thought at the same time to each other, then giggled as they realized it.

"What's so funny?" Pidge asked. Keith and Allura exchanged a look but didn't answer. Nanny glared at Keith and grabbed Allura by her arm and pulled her toward the door that led outside the castle.

Shortly before the Voltron Force arrived at Lion town and newly named Lake Hunk, they began to hear faint strains of music being played and the smell of barbeque.

"Hey, this looks like my kind of party!" Hunk said.

"Any party with food is your kind of party!" Lance quipped back.

"Wow! Look at that!" Pidge said as long boat filled with bare chested men with dragon heads on either side rowed on the crystal blue surface of Lake Hunk. Rainbow streamers came out of the mouths of the dragon heads and waved in the breeze like silky fire plumes.

"Cool!" Lance said, "I wonder what they're doing?" Lance asked.

"I think they're getting ready for the Space Olympics," Keith said.

Yes, they are." Allura answered, "I hope that Zarkon really wants peace because the the Galaxy Alliance might want to hold it here!" Allura said, her luminous blue eyes bright with hope.

"Hey maybe we could complete in the Space Olympics!" Hunk said standing up really straight and sucking in his belly.

"You'd totally win if they had a hotdog eating contest!" Lance, always ready to bust out a wise crack.

"Hey! What cha' trying to say?! " Hunk glared at Lance, "I'm not in good shape or something?"

"No, not at all!" Lance said with a jack o' lantern grin, "Round is a shape!"

Hunk dropped the beach towel he was holding and said, "That's it! You better run, Big Mouth!"

Lance sprinted off like a fox with Hunk on his heels like a hound. Lance led Hunk to the edge of the Lake, which was still a little muddy from being just formed in the morning. Hunk slipped and fell face down in the mud, and Lance laughed hysterically and splashed into the water up to his waist.

Keith and Pidge laughed, Allura giggled and Nanny snorted then mumbled, "Ruffians."

"Let's go join them, we came to go swimming, right?" Pidge suggested.

"Good idea Pidge!" Keith said and started to walk towards the lake. Allura started to follow but Nanny grabbed her arm.

"No, Princess, first you must greet the towns people, I'm sure they know you're here and want to welcome you to their festival.

_Go ahead my love, we'll still be here_, Keith thought.

Allura nodded, _Thank you, my love...isn't this thought sharing great for our secret relationship? _She had to suppress a giggle when she heard Keith chuckle in her mind.

Allura looked longingly at Keith for a moment—thankfully, even though Nanny saw the look, she thought it was for the cool blue water, not the Commander. "Yes, Nanny." she sighed and allowed Nanny to pull her along toward the town.

Far above Merla watched the Voltron Force and the celebrating citizens of the town and smirked. "Oh I can't wait to see this!" She said and laughed out loud and her hideous vulture squawked in its horrible version of laughter.

"I didn't know we had any holidays is the celebration for?" Allura asked Nanny.

"I think they are having a wedding?" Nanny replied, taking note of the white and pastel flowers and streamers decorating the streets and buildings of the town and a large group of people standing outside a building.

"Oh how romantic! I can't wait for my own wedding!" Allura sighed thinking of how handsome Keith would look in his dress uniform covered in medals waiting for her at the alter as she walked down the aisle in a shimmering white gown with a long veil and-

"I can't wait either!" Nanny exclaimed, "You will be wearing a beautiful white gown and a royal prince will be your husband!"

Allura frowned sadly at Nanny's comment. Keith wasn't a prince, or royal or even noble. He wasn't even a rich commoner. But there just had to be a way for them to be together...surely stranger things had happened.

Bells rang out and a happy young couple ran out of a church and out into the waiting crowd of people. The people threw handfuls pf petals into the air and the happy couple ran to a waiting carriage.

"It is a wedding!" Allura squealed.

"Look! It's the princess!" Someone in the crowd shouted and everyone turned to look.

Allura blushed and suddenly was very glad she had listened to Nanny and worn a proper sun dress of ecru colored lace and a pink taffeta sash around her waist tied in a big bow and not the swimsuit wrap that she had wanted to.

The she smiled and waved at the townspeople as the town mayor walked up to greet her. He bowed deeply and kissed her hand.

"What a pleasure for you to join us today of all days!" The mayor smiled and his plump cheeks were flushed red like boiled lobsters.

"It is a pleasure!" Allura agreed, "Please give my congratulations to the happy couple!"

"Thank you Princess! It is a great day! My daughter is the bride!" He said.

"Oh, how wonderful! I didn't know!" Allura said.

"It was so sudden I was surprised myself!" the mayor admitted. "Just a few hours ago I thought I would flog the young man, son of the head of the millers guild and my worst enemy, for courting my daughter without my permission, but he declared his affection would not waver and was willing to let me scourge the skin from his back before he would leave her alone. Well, what could I do? Now I think of him like my own son!" The mayor explained.

Nanny frowned but Allura clapped her hands with glee, "It seems like their true love won you over!"

"Indeed," the mayor agreed. "Please come Princess, Nanny...come enjoy our celebration with us!"

As Allura and Nanny followed the mayor they couldn't help but notice how happy everyone from both families was and all of the laughter of the guests.

"Look how happy everyone is, and to imagine they were all feuding like the Hatfields and McCoys before. Isn't it wonderful what the power of love can do, Nanny?" Allura said with tears glistening in her brilliant sapphire eyes.

"Humpft! They're probably all drunk!" Nanny, ever the pessimist, grumbled.

"


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Thank you for your reviews, everyon

Disclaimer: I don't own Voltron!

**For the Love of a Princess**

**Chapter 7**

After Allura and Nanny left to go greet the townspeople, Keith, Lance, Hunk, and Pidge dove into the waters of Lake Hunk after leaving their belongings on the shore.

"Poor Princess, having to be hauled around by Nanny like that," Lance sighed after surfacing.

"I agree, but she's a princess, and she has her duties, just like we have ours," the handsome captain of the Voltron Force said to his second-in-command from where he had emerged in the glistening water next to him.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, Captain Stick-In-The-Mud," Lance replied after liberally splashing him.

Keith happened to have his luscious brown eyes wide open at the moment he was splashed by the daring Red Lion pilot.

"I could have you written up for insubordination for this, you know!" he scowled after screwing his eyes shut to prevent the glistening waters of Lake Hunk from getting in.

"You'll have to catch me for that to happen!" Lance crowed before diving back in headfirst and swimming away really fast from him.

Keith must have been rubbing his beautiful eyes for a long time, for he hadn't moved from where he was treading water by the time his second-in-command resurfaced a fair distance away from him.

Lance looked around at where he was at and noticed that he had inadvertently made his way across to the other side of the small lake. He then noticed a woman kneeling on the shoreline washing a pile of clothes situated next to her.

The first thing he noticed about her was that she was very pretty, despite the ragged purple dress she was wearing and the slight scowl on her heart-shaped face. She had very long, thick, shiny black hair that went all the way down to her narrow waist, and her eyes were the same gorgeous purple color as the sky just before the sun rose. She had a teeny, tiny nose and her fleshy orbs heaved and strained against the well-worn fabric of her clothing like two dogs fighting over a steak underneath a throw rug.

Smiling to himself, Lance swam a bit closer to her until his feet were able to touch the lake bottom, and then he began striding confidently towards the lovely woman. He knew he looked good, although maybe not as good as the commander, but good enough to get the attention of many ladies.

"What's a pretty lady like you doing your own laundry for?" he said as he came swaggering out of the lake, water dripping his from six-pack abs.

The young woman looked up at him, glared slightly, and then went back to scrubbing out the stains in the shirt she was washing. "Not interested. Now if you don't mind, I'm busy."

Lance was immediately taken aback by her tone of voice. He held his hands out like he was warding off an attack from a rabid badger.

"Whoa, I'm sorry. I think we got off on the wrong foot. My name is Lance McClain. What's yours?"

She looked back up at him and then back down at her laundry, but she didn't glare at him this time. "Amethyst Valiant."

He bowed his head slightly as if he was already at the fancy shindig Nanny and Allura were at in the village center. "It's nice to meet you, Amethyst."

Amethyst. It figured, what with the color of her dress and her sparkly, sparkly eyes.

Amethyst continued scrubbing furiously, making her bosom sway like a waterbed mattress. "Look, Lance, I don't mean to be rude, but I really am busy."

"Let me help you then," Lance said, extending a hand towards her as if asking her to dance at the aforementioned fancy shindig taking place in the village square.

She cautiously raised her eyes to him, the intoxicating pools of wine that seemed to invite him to go swimming in them and get drunk off of them, shrugged, and then went back to her scrubbing. "Sure. Less work for me to do. Help yourself." She then gestured towards the pile of clothing next to her.

Despite the fact that he was still dripping wet and dressed in nothing but a pair of board shorts, he hunkered down next to her on the shores of Lake Hunk, grabbed a random article of clothing, and proceed to wash it. "So, why _are_ you out here doing this on a day as nice as this, anyways?"

"For the past few days, the weather wasn't very good to do laundry outside on," she replied, "So I'm doing it now."

"You're not going to the fancy shindig going on right now in the village?"

"The wedding?" Amethyst asked him, her face blank, "No. Besides the fact that I'm busy, I don't think any of the other villagers would want me there."

"Why in the world would they not want you there?" Lance blurted out, momentarily forgetting to scrub whatever it was that he was holding.

She was gorgeous! Who in the heck wouldn't want the pleasure of her company at a shindig, fancy or otherwise?!

Her kissable lips twisted into a bitter smile. "I'm too smart, too pretty, and bad luck. The villagers are intimidated by my looks and intelligence, and I apparently bring misfortune wherever I go. That's why I live out here."

For a moment, Lance didn't know what to say. "Here?"

"Yes, in that cave over yonder," she answered, pausing in her vigorous washing so that she could point to a nearby cave that he would have otherwise missed.

His eyes widened a bit at her response, but his hands never stopped moving. "It's probably just a big misunderstanding," he eventually said, "If I had a dollar for every time someone thought I was a no-good, degenerate lowlife, well, I'd have enough to buy, uh, something insanely expensive, like a truck shaped like a hotdog or something."

A tiny smile appeared on Amethyst's face before disappearing like a magic trick. "They think I'm bad luck because I'm the only survivor from an attack on my old village, which used to be right by Lion Town. Everyone was killed, including my entire family. My father, mother, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews… you name it. All of them dead, and all because of Zarkon and his flunkies. I live in this cave because my village was destroyed, and no one would take me in for reasons I have already mentioned."

"Oh, wow," Lance said, momentarily lost for words, "I am so sorry for your loss, Amethyst. And also that everyone has had such a narrow-minded attitude towards you."

She shrugged her shoulders. "Thank you, but I don't care what anyone thinks of me. I've been doing fine on my own, and I live for thing and one thing only: to take my revenge on Zarkon and his flunkies for what they did to me and my family."

"That's one thing that you and I both have in common," Lance said, grimacing as his efforts did little to lift a particular stain from the pair of pants in his hands, "It'a my mission to make sure Zarkon's reign of terror comes to an end, and that he never does what he did to innocent people like you ever again."

"I know," Amethyst said, "You're in the Voltron Force."

Her words startled him, making him drop the pants in his hands.

Noticing his surprise, Amethyst tossed her luscious black locks and laughed slightly, as if to tease him. "You can relax. I noticed your friends over there, I know what the Voltron Force members look like, and its common knowledge that Princess Allura is in the village greeting everyone at the wedding."

"Oh, well, uh, yeah, I fly the Red Lion," he mumbled sheepishly as he picked the pants back up from where they had landed on the soggy ground, "It's too soon to tell, but the war between Doom and Arus might have finally come to an end. Just between you and me, Zarkon surrendered and asked to join forces with Arus and the Galaxy Alliance."

"What?" she asked in that perfect, musical voice of hers, "Just like that?! After everything that he's done?!" she abruptly breathed out and then slowly inhaled, making her delicious-looking orbs of ecstasy do flips and other amazing things in her dress. "I do not deny that peace is long overdue for my planet, but I trust Zarkon about as far as I could probably throw him."

"You and me both," Lance chuckled, setting aside the freshly washed pants and going for the dress that was sitting on top of the "To Be Washed" pile, "I agree that Zarkon and his flunkies should be made to pay for their crimes, but if their desire for peace is genuine, as we all hope, then it would be in everyone's best interest if we accepted their offer. It would be the least messy solution to this problem."

Amethyst frowned, batting her violet eyes like she was hitting homers with them. "You're right, but still..."

Her thoughts were interrupted when Keith, Hunk, and Pidge suddenly came charging out of the water at them.

"That's where you got off to!" Hunk boomed loudly.

"We went looking for you after we hadn't seen you in a bit," Keith explained.

"Who are you?" Pidge pointed at Amethyst, "You're beautiful."

Hunk elbowed him gently, sending him crashing back into his namesake. "Come on, Little Buddy. You can't blurt out the first thing that comes to your mind. That's rude." He then turned back to Amethyst, "Sorry about that, ma'am, he's still pretty young. Please don't mind him."

Lance finally found his tongue and said, "Sorry, guys, I didn't mean to make you worry. I've been talking to Amethyst this entire time." He then addressed her specifically, "Amethyst, this is the rest of the guys, Keith, Hunk, and Pidge. Guys, this is Amethyst."

A brief chorus of hellos from everyone followed, and when everyone's acquaintance had been made, Amethyst abruptly stood up and gathered up her freshly washed clothes. "It looks like I'm done with my laundry already. I better get back so I can hang it out to dry. It was nice meeting you all," she bowed her head towards the Voltron Force members, "Thank you for what you do, and thank you for your help, Lance. I really do appreciate it. Have a pleasant rest of the day."

She then began to walk away towards her cave.

Lance watched her departing for a few seconds before he stood up and said, "I'll be back in a few minutes, guy. Don't wait up for me."

He then began to trot after Amethyst without waiting for a response for them. He could not put a finger on it, but there was something or two about her that just stood out to him and made him want to get to know her better.

"Hey, Amethyst, wait up!" he called out to her, "Can I help you out a bit more with your laundry?"

She looked at him quizzically before shrugging once more. "Sure."

With his assistance, they began to hang the damp clothing on a clothesline, which was located outside the entrance to her home, with wooden clothes pins. When they were done, he suddenly felt awkward, a feeling he did not feel very often.

"So, um, if you ever wanted a tour of the Castle of Lions, I'd love to show you around," Lance offered.

Another tiny smile graced her cherry lips and angelic face. "I appreciate the help and the offer, Lance, but I'd feel really out of place at the castle. I've also been there before, although I was very little at the time. My father was one of the castle guards, and my mother was a maid there."

"I'm sure the princess and everyone else would love to get to know you better, but if you'd feel uncomfortable there...," Lance trailed off, rubbing his chin as he thought furiously to himself, "Can I come visit you sometime then?"

Amethyst shrugged again. "Sure, I always have chores I could use some help with."

Lance grinned. "It's a date then. I'll see you tomorrow evening."

He then waved and began jogging back towards Lake Hunk.

"It's not a date!" she called back after him and then walked inside of her cave home.

Lance chuckled to himself and before he even knew it, he was back the shores of the lake. By now, Nanny and the princess had come back, and everyone was lounging on a big plaid blanket on the ground next to the water eating sandwiches. The princess was in a modest bright pink swimsuit, complete with tons of frills, lace, and bows, while Nanny was in an even more modest bathing costume hailing from what seemed to be eras past. It consisted of some sort of bathing cap and a close-fitted black dress over what appeared to be black knee-high bloomers. It too was littered with frills and bows.

Nanny noticed him and said in her uppity, most Nannyish way possible, "Oh, good, you're back. The hooligans filled me in on what happened while we were gone. I take it you met someone?"

"Hello to you, too, Nanny," Lance said as he grabbed a sandwich and plopped down between Hunk and Pidge, "You could say that I did."


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Sorry for being away for so long, guys :( I've been busy with my new Keith, heehee :) He's soo dreamy!1

Disclaimer: I don't own Voltron.

**For the Love of a Princess**

**Chapter 8**

For the Voltron Force and Nanny, the rest of the day zoomed by like a mouse with its tail lit on fire. After eating lunch, they swam around a little bit longer in the glistening waters of Lake Hunk before ultimately packing up their belongings and heading back to the castle. The entire time, Keith and Allura sent secret romantic thoughts to each other that made them both feel warm and fuzzy on the inside, and Lance could not get the mental image of the lovely Amethyst and her huge morals and character from his mind.

Meanwhile, Lotor and Merla continued in their diabolical spying game upon the intrepid team from their hiding spot in space.

"Argh! I can't stand all this waiting, waiting, waiting!" the evil pointy-eared prince declared, "And I can't stand that blasted Captain Keith getting cozy with _my_ princess! How many more days until we go down there and pose as my father's peace ambassadors?"

The similarly evil pointy-eared queen's buzzard flapped in distress and annoyance from where it perched, as always, upon her shoulder. _Mistress, PLEASE can I shit on him now? I don't know how much longer I can hold it in, and I really, really want to shit on him!_

_Not yet, my sweet pet, but soon_, she told him via their psychic bond before turning to Lotor and glaring slightly at him with her eyes, which were yellow like cheese, "You must be patient. If we show up unexpectedly early, it will look suspicious and that could blow our cover. We have just one more day. Surely you can wait that long? Just remember what we will be gaining if we succeed!"

"I know," he muttered, mellowing out somewhat at the thought of Allura dressed in a teeny, tiny pink bikini with sparkles and tassels that would twirl when she danced fawning over him and feeding him grapes and other similar things, "I just hate all this waiting! You know me, I've always been a man of action!"

"Of course," Merla said and nodded without really listening to him, "We need to let Haggar's magic come to full maturity and infect all the people of Arus, though, and then just think how sweet our victory shall be!"

While Lotor was thinking of the princess, Merla thought of a scantily dressed Keith massaging her blue feet and looking up at her adoringly. They were both so tickled by what they were imagining that they both laughed loudly and evilly, coughed, and then kept laughing some more.

Back on Arus, it was finally night time, and Allura was snug in bed dressed in her frilly pink nightgown. Even though her eyes of sapphire were closed and she was ready to depart off to the land of sleep, her lips were curved into a beautiful smile.

_I still can't believe that we can talk like this_, she thought to Keith, who was two floors below her in his own room.

_I know!_ He thought back to her, _This is so great! Now we can spend more time talking and getting to know each other even better than we already do!_

The princess wiggled with excitement in her bed. It was so wonderful that they had this miraculous telepathic bond! She did not know where it had come from, but it was definitely a gift. They could talk into the wee hours about their love, and no one would be able to overhear them! As a result, they would experience an even deeper love than they already had without anyone finding out about it before it was time for them to reveal the shining beauty that was their love for each other to everyone. Then, there would peace, and they would marry, and he would be King Keith and she would be Queen Allura! She became even more excited at the thought, and her orbs of delight swelled with her desire.

_I love you so much_, she thought to him.

_And I love you, my sweetest darling_, he thought to her.

Her thoughts took on a teasing note, _I love you more!_

_Nuh-uh, silly, I love you more!_

_No, I love you more!_

The mental battle betwixt the lovebirds continued on for some time before Allura collapsed into a fit of giggles in her room. _Okay, okay, we both love each other equally!_

She could hear his telepathic chuckle in her pretty blonde head. _Hehe, yes, we do._

_I wonder what our future kids will look like_, she thought to him.

He sent his thoughts to her. _Hmm, I think if we have a daughter, she will look just like you, with beautiful blonde hair and blue eyes._

_Or maybe she will have your gorgeous brown eyes and black hair_, she offered. _If we have a son, I think he would look like you._

_Or maybe you, _he thought to her, _Just imagine a beautiful baby boy with blonde curls and blue eyes. Like an angel... like you._

_Oh, Keith, you're so romantic_, she sent her dreamy thoughts to him, _I hope we have lots of cute little babies together._

_Me too_, he thought.

The two shared visions together of the possible children that they would have together. Countless little cherubic babies danced back in forth from one mind to the next, making them both sigh contentedly.

At long last, Keith thought, _As lovely as it is to talk like this, you need your sleep, my darling, as do I. We have to spend tomorrow preparing for the arrival of Prince Lotor and Queen Merla so that the details of the peace agreement can be hammered out nice and quick._

_Oh, you sound just like Coran, _Allura pouted, _But you're right, my love. The meeting must happen and be successful. We need peace. Good night. I love you._

_Good night, my darling_, he thought back to her, _I love you too._

The next day, Keith and Allura spent time with Coran planning out the meeting with the Prince of Doom and the Queen of Darkness, who would be arriving the next day. Hunk and Pidge also helped out with the matter, but Lance said that he had something he had to take care, so he was allowed to go without too many holdups from Nanny. He then went off to go see Amethyst in her cave home by Lake Hunk.

When he got to the cave entrance, he cupped his mouth and called out, "Hello, Amethyst! It's me, Lance!"

He heard footsteps, and a moment later, her figure hove into view. She was wearing a purple shirt that laced up the front that barely contained her heaving bosom and a pair of black leggings that looked like they had been repaired by hand many times. Her long, shiny black hair was pulled back into a high ponytail.

"Hello, Lance," she said, "Come on in. I wasn't expecting to see you. I thought you were kidding yesterday."

At her invitation, the Red Lion pilot walked into her cave and looked around. It was a small cave. He saw a sleeping mat and blanket in one area, and small fire pit surrounded by chopped wood and a collection of homemade and secondhand plates and food containers in another. He also saw a small collection of crude but effective-looking spears and other weaponry on the ground and propped up against a nearby rock. There looked to be other stuff towards the end of the space, but he was too far away to be able to see what it was.

"Nah, I was being serious," Lance said, "I really wanted to see you again."

She colored slightly at his response, but she shook her head and a serious look came into her face. "Well, I finished my chores earlier since I wasn't expecting anyone, so there's nothing really left to be done around here."

"We could talk and get to know each other," he said.

She did not immediately answer him, and he looked around a bit more inside the cave. "I like your home. It's really rockin'! Haha, get it?"

His laughter died in his throat when he saw her blank expression. "Ah-ha... ha... ha... Okay, never mind. I guess that was pretty lame."

She nodded her head, making her ponytail bob up and down like of those funny red bird desk toys with the blue hat. "Thank you. And yes, it was, but that's okay. I've got to catch dinner for tonight, anyways. You want to help me? We can talk as we do it."

Lance nodded his own head at her. "Sure! Sounds good!"

Amethyst went to the back of the cave and rummaged around a bit for something. When she came back, she had two fishing poles in hand and a small tackle box in another.

"Here you go," she said before handing him one of the poles.

The two of them then went outside and proceeded to fish in the glistening waters of Lake Hunk after they baited their hooks. As expected, the conversation was slightly stilted since they didn't know each other very well, but it wasn't unpleasant. Lance told her a little about himself, and then asked more about her.

"I had a really big family. I was the youngest of six siblings. I wanted to be a chef and open my own restaurant when I was younger," Amethyst said after staring thoughtfully into the waters of the lake.

Her expression then hardened, and Lance resisted the urge to drop his fishing pole and hug her, "After they all died, though, my only dream became to survive long enough to get revenge on Zarkon and his goons for what they did to my family. From time to time, I get the feeling that I'm destined for something greater than that, but I think that's just a silly fantasy. When Zarkon and his followers are dead and in the ground, my desire for revenge will be fulfilled, and I will be able to die satisfied and join my family, wherever they are in the afterlife."

"Please don't talk like that, Amethyst," he pleaded with her, "What happened to your family is tragic, and I'm a big believer in karma. I know that you want to help your them, but I don't think they would want you to needlessly throw your life away like that. You are a strong person, and I don't think what you described was a silly fantasy. I really do think that you're destined for something greater."

She closed her eyes and smiled a small smile. "Maybe... oh, I got a fish on my line!"

She reeled in her line and produced a wriggling, medium-sized fish. She put her pole down and set about cleaning her catch while Lance continued to try and get his own fish. They continued talking as he did so, and before long, he felt something tugging at his line. After a few moments, he had reeled in a fish that was just slightly larger than the one Amethyst had caught. After he cleaned it, she kindled a fire in her fire pit and began cooking their catches. When they were fully cooked, she grabbed a couple of chipped plates and served the fish on them.

"Here you go," she said after handing him his plate, "Thanks again for the help."

"My pleasure," Lance replied, "And thank you."

Amethyst made a noncommittal noise before sitting down and biting voraciously into her meal like a hungry badger, and he followed her example. When the fish was gone, he helped her clean up, and before long, both were sitting on the ground outside the cave entrance and staring into the swiftly darkening sky.

"I better get back to the castle soon. Tomorrow's a really big day, and we all need to be on top of our game," Lance said, "I had a really good time with you today, Amethyst. When can I see you again?"

"I had a really good time with you, too, Lance, and I wish you luck with tomorrow," she said, "I'm not sure if it's a good idea that you see me again, though... I like you, Lance, you're different from the others. You're not intimidated by my looks or intelligence, and you're not just trying to get your rocks off, either. I'd like to get to know you better, but I'm bad luck, remember? Nothing good can come from knowing me."

Lance shook his head back and forth at her claim. "I'm willing to take that risk, Amethyst. I don't think you bring bad luck. I just think you've been dealt a crappier hand than others, and you haven't given up despite that fact. You can't help what other people think, and if they think you bring bad luck, then they're idiots."

She looked at him for a moment, and it was impossible to determine from her sparkly purple eyes what she was thinking or feeling. "If you want to, you can come by in the evening in two days. I will probably have something you can help me with."

Lance grinned at her. "It's a date then!"

"It's not a date!" Amethyst growled, but she did not really look angry.

"Okay, I'll show up in a couple days for our not-date, then," he laughed, and then he hugged her.

Her massive bazongas became squished against him for a moment, but then they resumed their normal delightful shapes when he released her. He stood up, stretched, and then held his hand out to her in order to help her get to her feet. She hesitated for a few seconds before taking his hand, but then she grasped it, and he pulled her to her feet.

"I'll see you later, Amethyst," he said after hugging her one more time.

"Same here," she replied.

Lance then took off for the castle, while she began to make preparations for securing her cave for the night.

The next day, the Voltron Force went down their changing tubes and into their Lions and flew out to the spot where they would be meeting with Lotor and Merla. They landed a short distance away from the spot and then exited their ships. Pidge and Hunk stayed behind to guard the Lions and to act in the event of an emergency, while Keith, Allura, and Lance began walking towards the spot. They could see the Prince of Doom's huge ship in the distance. Allura had the documents Coran had drafted up tucked tightly into her tiny hands.

_Keith, I'm a little scared_, she thought to her one true love.

They were close enough that they could have held hands if they wanted to.

_Don't be, my darling_, he thought reassuringly at her, _Things should go smoothly, and then there will be peace in the galaxy! But if Lotor does try anything, Pidge and Hunk are by the Lions and can come to our rescue._

"You guys sure are quiet," Lance commented from in between them.

"Uh, yeah, I know," Keith said, "I'm just thinking."

The princess giggled at what he said, and then they continued walking in silence.

_You know, as awful as Lotor's been, you have to admit, he has the guts to go after what he wants_, the captain mused at random, _I kind of wish I was more like that_.

Allura turned to look at him, and her ocean-colored eyes were wide with horror. _Keith, how could you think that?! That's Lotor you're talking about!_

He shook his head like a puppy that had just been smacked by a newspaper. _You're... right. I don't know where that thought came. We'll need to be careful._

Before long, they reached the designated clearing, and standing in the middle of it were the tall figures of the prince and the queen.

"As always, it is a pleasure to see you, Princess," Lotor said to Allura.

She shivered at the formerly evil prince's words. He always made her feel so naked with those kitty cat eyes of his! The only person she ever wanted to be naked with was her true love!

"I give you greetings, Captain Keith," purred Merla.

The commander was stoic in the face of the queen's flirtatious words. Allura merely glared at her.

"Prince Lotor, Queen Merla," she nodded, "Thank you for coming. This is truly an auspicious day. Let us begin negotiations."

The queen's blueberry-colored lips stretched into a mysterious smile. "Yes, let's."


End file.
